1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water control systems, and more specifically, to a system for controlling a household water supply.
2. Background of the Invention
Water supplies connected to a household are typically controlled only at the points of service, e.g., sink faucets, shower valves and appliances that connect to the water supply provide individual shut-off for water flow. The household water supply connection is typically controlled by a manual external valve that can be used to shut-off water flow in the event of an emergency water leak or for servicing the water supply system plumbing or replacing appliances.
Flooding due to plumbing failures is a major source of damage to structures and fixtures such as carpeting, wood flooring, wallboard, etc. The most frequent water supply emergency events are failure due to freezing temperatures inside the water supply plumbing and failure of the water heater tank. A freezing condition usually occurs when the house is unoccupied, for example, a vacation home that is unoccupied during winter is at risk for damage due to bursting of water supply lines due to freezing. Other water supply emergency events may occur when the house is unoccupied, such as failure of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plumbing joint, or water heater tank wall erosion and leakage.
Since water pressure needs to be available while persons are present in the household, the supply pressure must be available when the household is occupied. Also, certain automatic water users such as icemakers, dishwashers and washing machines make automatic demands on the water supply that may occur when the household is unoccupied. It is also inconvenient to manually control a household water supply upon entering or exiting a household.
Systems have been implemented that shut off the household water supply in response to detection of leaks using detectors located near water heaters, sinks, etc. But, these systems only protect against leaks where water reaches the detectors and could require a large number of detectors for adequate coverage. Other systems have been developed that measure water flow and shut off the water supply if excessive flow occurs based on whether or not the house is occupied as programmed manually by a switch. The flow type systems typically use flow meters that are incapable of detecting water flows below a certain threshold, such as a dripping faucet.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method and system for controlling a household water supply to prevent flooding. It would further be desirable to control a household water supply in a manner that automatic water users are able to obtain water, while preventing leaks that occur while the water supply is not being used.
The above objective of preventing flooding due to plumbing failure is achieved in a method and system that automatically control a household water supply. The system includes an electrically controllable valve, a motion sensor and a control system for controlling the automatic valve in conformity with a motion detector output.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.